Spring shackle tool



Jan. 10, 1950 H. A. MEARNS ET AL SPRING SHACKLE TOOL Filed March 3, 1947Patented Jan. 10, 1950 SPRING SHACKEE' TOOL Herbert A..Mearnss*and JohnG, Nelson, Elkins, W; Va.

ApplicatihmM'archB, 19 k7;,-Se1:ial No;,73i1,9.4.4

2 Claims. 1,

This invention relates .to: tools designed: as -an example: forremovingv orapplying spring shackles.

In. thework of applying'or removing spring shackles for vehiclesconsiderableequipment of a; heavy nature is requiredtosupport-'theweight of the vehiclebody, and when the spring is re laxedconsiderable diificulty' is encountered in lining up the bearing of thespring with the shackle stud. The net result is that consider"- ablemore timeis consumedin doing the job than seems justified'by the:cost-of the parts involved. It is, therefore; an object of thisinvention toprovid'easmall too which will eli'mi nate the use of heavyequipmentand will per.- mit the insertion and/or removal'offthe. shacklewithin a very short time. Furthermore, with a tool. constructedaccording to this invention, small service stations canremove or applyspring shackles in a short time and with apparently little effort.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tool of this kind whichwill-retain the'normal tension on the springs and holdthe'=-vehi'cle"body in its normal position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tool of this kindwhich 'can'be used on: various types of vehicles sothata single tool canbe used on most standard vehicles:

A further object-of this'inventi'on is to provide a tool which isapplicable to torsion bar suspensions, and also in the close adjustmentof heavy articles.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention consists in thearrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in thedrawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary detail side elevation of a vehicle frame andsuspension spring with a device constructed according to an embodimentof this invention mounted thereon,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the lower end of thecombined guide and abutment for the clamp.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral [0 designates generally a vehicleframe having disposed therebenath, a leaf spring I l which is connectedat at least one end thereof to the frame 2: ID bymeans of a shackle E2.The frame Ill, withv the spring H and the: shackle 12, are ofconventional construction and. are herein shown asianz examplerof avehicle structure with which the hereinafter described tool may be used.

In order" to: provide a; means whereby the shackle: I2- may be removedor applied: without theuse of heavy equipment.- such as a crane and jackconstruction for lifting thebody of the Ve hicle and otherwisesupporting; thespring, to permit: removal or: application of: theshackle, we have provided a tool. which will. retain the n'ormal tensionon the spring: 9, the tool'being interposed partly.- betweenthespring ll and the lower side of the frame it.

This tool comprises a clamp generally desig'- nated as, M" which isadapted to straddle the upper and lower sides of the spring H. The clampM-is U-s-haped in side elevation, being formed=witlr parallel legs 15"and It; and a conne'cting'portion I? atone end which is formed with aninteriorly threaded bort or opening as indicatediat i3. The two le s15'. and It of the clamp ld'areprovided at their free ends with eyes I8and l9'respectively, and a tubularicombined guide and abutment or jaw,generally designatedlas 20,, is, adapted to initially engage looselythroughtheeyes i8- and 9; The guide 21L isflsubstantially longer, thanthe distance be? tween the eyes 18 and 59 so that a substantial portionof this guide may extend above and below the eyes in order that theguide may be vertically adjusted with respect to the frame It.

The spring 5 I is positioned between the two legs l5 and 16, having theinner edge thereof abutting against the guide or abutment member 20, andthe spring Ii is tightly clamped against the guide or abutment member25! by means of a pressure applying screw 2| which is threaded throughthe opening 83 in the connecting portion l1. When the screw 2! is inpressure ap plying position, the guide 20 will be tightly disposedwithin the eyes l8 and as and will thereby be held against endwisemovement.

.The guide 20 is formed with a bore 22 within which an elongated shank33 slidably engages. The shank 23 is formed with a keyway 24, extendinglengthwise thereof, and a key or pin 25 extends through the guide 20into the keyway 24 so as to thereby hold the shank 23 against turningmovement and also limit the endwise movement of the shank, the keyway 24being of less length than the length of the shank 23 and having the endsthereof disposed between the upper and lower ends of the shank 23.

The shank 23 has fixed on its upper end a head 26 and a right angularlydisposed arm 21 extends from the head 26. The head 26 and the arm 2! areadapted to engage the lower side of the frame 10, as shown in Figures 1and 2, so that when the shank 23 is vertically adjusted, the spring IIwill be held in its tensioned position with respect to the frame It. Ashank adjusting screw 28 is threaded as at 29, through the lower end ofthe guide 20, and is adapted to bear at "with the legs thereofpositioned on opposite sides its upper or inner end against a point 38which 4 is formed on the lower end of the shank 23. The

lower end of the screw 28 has a handle 3! secured thereto, whereby thescrew 28 may be rotated either inwardly or outwardly of the guide 20.

In the use and operation of this tool, when it is desired to remove theshackle l2, the guide is disengaged from the eyes l8 and I9 and theopposite legs I5 and it of the clamp [4 are extended over the upper andlower sides of the spring II. The eyes 48 and [9 will be positioned onthe inner edge of the spring II and then the guide 20 is insertedthrough the eyes 18 and I9 and roughly adjusted vertical so that theL-shaped frame engaging member, comprising the shank 23, the head 26,and the arm 21, will lightly engage the lower side of the frame It.

The pressure applying screw 2| is then threaded inwardly so as to engagethe outer edge of the spring ll, and the tightening of the screw 2| willthen lock and tighten the guide 21! within the eyes 18 and I9. The upperside of the L- shaped frame engaging member is disposed with the arm 21extending at right angles with respect to the length of the frame l0 andthe adjusting screw 28 is then threaded inwardly of the guide 20 untilthe shackle i2 is loosely disposed within the bearings of the frame i0and the spring ll.

When the weight of the frame [0 and the ten sion of the spring I l arerelieved. from the shackle [2 by adjustment of the screw 28, the shackleI2 may be easily removed from the bearings carshackle is very muchsimplified and can be acof a spring, a pressure applying bolt threadedthrough the connecting portion of said clamping member, an eye carriedby the free end of each '-leg of said member, an abutment elementloosely engaging through said eyes, a vehicle frame engaging memberslidably carried by said abutment element, and threaded adjusting meansfor said vehicle frame engaging member carried by said abutment element.

2. A spring shackle tool comprising a U- shaped clamping member adaptedto be disposed with the legs thereof straddling a spring, an eye carriedby the free end of each leg of said clamping member, an abutment elementloosely ,engaging through said eyes, a pressure applying bolt threadedthrough the connecting portion of said clamping member and adapted toengage the spring for clamping thereof between said bolt and saidabutment element whereby said clamping member will be frictionallylocked against movement relative to said abutment element, a vehicleframe engaging member slidably carried by said abutment element, andthreaded adjusting means for said vehicle frame engaging member carriedby said abutment element.

HERBERT A. MEARNS. JOHN G. NELSON REFERENCES CITED 7 The followingreferences areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Zimmerman Oct. 27,1931

